Fruit on Tu b'Shevat — Why Experts Recommend Choosing Fresh

 Although many people are accustomed to eating dried fruits on the “New Year of the Trees,” it is actually much healthier to eat fresh fruit.

Dr. Maya Rosman explains that while dried fruits do have certain benefits, they also come with many disadvantages: “Tu b'Shevat is considered one of the healthiest holidays — and that may be true, especially if we compare it to sufganiyot, hamantaschen, or matzah made from white flour. But it’s important to know that the nutritional value of fresh fruit is far higher. The amount of vitamins in fresh fruit is significantly greater — especially Vitamin C, which is found only in fresh fruit and is not present at all in dried fruit.”

Dr. Rosman adds that Vitamin C plays an important role in preventing illness during the winter and seasonal transitions — a benefit worth remembering. However, contrary to the common belief that dried fruits are richer in iron and calcium, the amount found in a single dried apricot is identical to that in a fresh apricot. The same is true for figs and plums — a dried fig or prune contains the same amount of iron as a fresh one.

Another advantage of fresh fruit over dried fruit relates to avoiding unnecessary calorie intake. Because dried fruits are smaller and more concentrated, it is much easier to overconsume them and exceed the recommended daily intake of calories and sugar. In addition, most dried fruits — with the exception of organic varieties, contain chemicals used as preservatives or color stabilizers, which may be harmful to our health and are entirely unnecessary.

In light of Dr. Rosman’s observations, it is preferable to eat fresh fruit rather than dried fruit. In most Jewish communities, the custom on the night of Tu b'Shevat is to decorate the table with a variety of fruits of the tree — especially from the Seven Species, and to recite the appropriate blessings over them.